A slice of Bumrah and a dash of Boult — Mumbai Indians' revival is being cooked up at the death, one over at a time
At the halfway mark of IPL 2025, the Mumbai Indians were drifting like a rudderless boat. Four defeats, an unsettled XI, and murmurs of another forgettable campaign grew louder. But somewhere in that gloom, two seasoned players — Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult — picked up the thread and began sealing the pieces back together.
Since then, MI have secured four straight wins. It's no coincidence that Boult and Bumrah have bowled 27 of their 40 overs in those death overs, conceding just over 7.5 an over as a pair. They've turned Mumbai's mess into mayhem — for the opposition.
For most of his IPL career, Boult was the fresh breeze at dawn — that lethal first-over specialist who could rearrange top orders with swing and seam. In fact, he's the leading wicket-taker in the very first over in IPL history.
But this season, the Kiwi has traded dawn for dusk. With 6 wickets at the death already — just three shy of his all-time best — and an economy of 9.37, Boult's learning how to close as well as he opens.
More crucially, he's bowled in the death overs in 8 of the 9 games this season, a far cry from his Rajasthan Royals stint, where he bowled at the death in only 20 of 41 matches and rarely more than one over. Mumbai has embraced him as a finisher. And he's started to feel like one too.
Jasprit Bumrah, of course, needs no reinvention. He's the pressure cooker that never lets off steam. This IPL, he's gone for just 7.75 runs an over at the death — one of only four bowlers with better figures than Boult among those who've bowled more than six overs in that phase.
Since his return after injury, MI have averaged only 25 runs in their final three overs per game. That's control, command, and calm, all rolled into one wrist flick.
He may not always start the fire, but Bumrah has been instrumental in snuffing it out when the embers begin to glow. With Boult taking the back-end responsibility, too, MI has been able to plan with a clarity they sorely lacked earlier this season.
As the bowling took shape, the batting needed a leader to emerge. Leaving behind a bad patch, Rohit Sharma—eyes sharp, intent sharper. No longer just a marquee name on the team sheet, Rohit's return to top-order dynamism has established better platforms for the middle order.
In Mumbai Indian’s recent matches, the Hitman scored at a strike rate of 149, clearing the infield with grace and gumption. It's not a purple patch; it's something more profound — a rhythm that suggests the old timing is back.
That assurance at the top has meant MI is less reliant on lower-order rescues. The result? The bowlers need more breathing space to dictate terms when they need them most.
There's a whiff of 2020 in the Mumbai air again. Back then, Boult and Bumrah shared 52 wickets between them, steamrolling teams with powerplay punches and death-over daggers.
This season, the ingredients are reuniting—a measured Boult at the end, a lethal Bumrah throughout, and a batting unit slowly knitting form together.
And perhaps that's the magic Mumbai was missing all along—not a new recipe, but remembering how to mix the old one just right.
